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 In one of his first actions as the new president of the AFL-CIO,
Richard Trumka put the muscle of the world’s most powerful labor organization behind efforts to secure a contract that respects the contributions of 784 engineers to
the success of Spirit AeroSystems.
Negotiators for employees in the Wichita Engineering Unit (WEU) of the Society of Professional Engineering Employees in Aerospace (SPEEA), IFPTE
Local 2001, return to Main Table negotiations with Spirit AeroSystems on Tuesday (Sept. 22). A federal mediator will assist as management continues to push employees toward a strike.
Engineers rejected the first Spirit offer by 91% and a second offer by 93%. The regressive second offer would have required four hours of free work before employees earned overtime pay
and doubled employee contributions for medical coverage. Last month, 92% of union members voted to give their negotiation team authority to call a strike.
In his letter to union members and the company, Trumka called Spirit management's attempt to
force employees to work for free and pay increased medical premiums "deplorable."
“If Spirit management continues to push takeaways, rejects union counterproposals and forces a
work stoppage, you will not be alone,” Trumka wrote. “No union member is ever alone.”
A recent scientific poll reinforced the overwhelming rejection of Spirit’s two contract offers. The
survey shows strong disagreement with management’s intent to force engineers to accept a regressive contract.
Results from the polling will be used by the WEU Negotiation Team to support its counterproposal. “The support of the AFL-CIO is greatly appreciated,” said Bob Brewer,
SPEEA Midwest director. “We continue to hope management makes the movements necessary to provide a new offer that respects our contributions to Spirit.”
Union support continues to grow. One year ago about 30 percent of employees in the bargaining unit were full dues paying members. This week, membership topped 55 percent. Union leaders
expect the trend to continue.
“Nobody wants a strike,” said Matthew Joyce, vice-chair of the WEU Negotiation Team.
“Every new member gets us closer to a fair contract without a work stoppage.”
Main Table negotiations for a new 3 ½-year contract started in June. Spirit is a former commercial airplane plant of The Boeing Company. Workers at the Wichita facility engineer and
manufacturer portions of several Boeing aircraft, including the 737, 747 and 787.
A local of the International Federation of Professional and Technical Engineers (IFPTE), SPEEA represents 24,900 aerospace professionals at Boeing, Spirit AeroSystems in Wichita, Triumph
Composite Systems, Inc., in Spokane, Wash., and BAE Systems, Inc., in Irving, Texas.
President Trumka’s letter is posted on the homepage of the SPEEA website at www.speea.org.
Download a .pdf Trumka letter to employees and Spirit management.
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